In ductwork it is often necessary to connect a thin-wall metal tubular conduit into a main conduit at an acute angle to make what is commonly referred to as a Y-connection. Several devices have been proposed for making such a connection when the main conduit is relatively rigid such as those disclosed in patents to: Cornell, U.S. Pat. No. 1,908,821; Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,988; and Plauka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,391. The Cornell patent teaches the use of a rigid saddle, that is arranged to overlie the hole in the main conduit, with the branch conduit disposed over a sleeve integrally formed on the saddle; the Jones patent discloses the use of a flexible sleeve to make the connection; and the patent to Plauka et al. concerns a method of connecting the branch conduit to the main conduit without using any auxiliary connector members. Another way of making this connection involves a plurality of tabs extending from the lower end of the branch conduit that are arranged to project through the hole in the main conduit and be bent back to hold the branch conduit on the main conduit. The prior art concerning Y-connections for a flexible main conduit is very limited. To applicants knowledge, only one patent is directed to such a device and that is the patent to MacDonald, U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,965, which discloses apparatus for making a Y-connection, at the point not over a hole in the main conduit, but where two flexible metal conduits are joined. Again, this disclosure concerns the use of a saddle adapted to be disposed on the outside of the two pipes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved Y-connection for a conduit. A further object is to provide apparatus for making a Y-connection over a hole in a thin-wall flexible metal conduit.